French official says Afghan withdrawal needed

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/January/international_January805.xml§ion=international

(Reuters)

22 January 2011, PARIS - France and the international community should begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in the months ahead to help push Afghanistan towards democracy, a senior French foreign affairs official said on Friday.

Axel Poniatowski, a member of the ruling UMP party and head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s decision this week to delay the inauguration of parliament was a “bad sign for democracy”.

Karzai ordered a one-month delay after a special election court that he set up asked for more time to look into fraud allegations in the Sept. 18 parliamentary election. France has about 3,500 troops in Afghanistan, although the U.S.-led war has been largely unpopular in the country. At least 50 French soldiers in Afghanistan have been killed since 2001.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. But..but..we have a Peace Prize winner who says the killing is necessary.

[silverweb]

2. That's already the plan, isn't it?

To start drawing down the troops this year?